Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 372,850 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 0.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 67,277,988 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 372,850 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.08% of United Parcel Service worth $5,619,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Andra AP fonden grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 95.9% in the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 332,983 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $33,611,000 after buying an additional 163,000 shares in the last quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the second quarter worth $1,479,000. Strategic Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the third quarter valued at $3,885,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 94,361 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,525,000 after purchasing an additional 12,035 shares during the period. Finally, Equity Investment Corp lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 16.8% during the 2nd quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,130,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $114,118,000 after purchasing an additional 162,364 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on UPS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on United Parcel Service from $99.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Bank of America raised shares of United Parcel Service from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $114.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.67.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 25,014 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.15, for a total transaction of $2,655,236.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS opened at $115.46 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $106.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.23. The firm has a market cap of $97.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.11. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.00 and a 1 year high of $123.70.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $24.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.91 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 38.30% and a net margin of 6.28%.United Parcel Service’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.75 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.00%.

About United Parcel Service

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is a global package delivery and supply chain management company that provides a broad range of transportation, logistics and e-commerce services. Its core business centers on small-package delivery and last-mile distribution for business and individual customers, supported by a network of ground transportation, air cargo operations (UPS Airlines) and sorting facilities. In addition to parcel delivery, UPS offers freight transportation, contract logistics, warehousing, customs brokerage and reverse-logistics solutions designed to support domestic and international commerce.

The company traces its roots to 1907 when it began as a small messenger service in the United States and later evolved into the United Parcel Service.